“Leaving us the additional weapons and armor would ease our difficulties,” agreed Saou with a nod, watching Adam step through the hatch. Seconds later, both he and Snee Vasten swung the hatch suddenly closed, locking it securely from the other side as quickly as possible.
“Trap sprung,” nodded Adam firmly, turning to glance down the adjoining corridor he now stood in. It wasn’t very long, and at the far end he could see several dark black objects attached to the bulkhead. Glowing red lights on each of them betrayed what they were, and he smiled with mischievous appreciation as to just how treacherous and slimy the Zaketh Captain was. He wished that there was more time to play around with such a sinister mind, but the deadly truth was that his four Crasel friends, still holding control of the engine room, were in as much danger as he was. Fingers drifted up to his ear transceiver to warn them, and only then did he notice that its signal had gone dead. There will certainly be consequences this time, he concluded thoughtfully.
That was when the bombs detonated, opening the other end of the short corridor to outer space.
*
[“How does it look out there?”] asked the familiar presence of his brother, Thomas, a moment later. [“It’s even more beautiful without a ship, isn’t it? Noah claims that free floating through open space is one of his favorite past times.”]
[“Oh there’s still a ship,”] Adam remarked with mild amusement. [“More than one, as a matter of fact, and they’re all getting smaller with each passing minute.”] He paused, taking in the astonishing view of mostly obscured starlight sprinkled against the roiling nebulae clouds as his fully protected body tumbled end over end. [“Although I can completely appreciate this experience on an aesthetic level, I am seriously hoping that your promised remedies to this type of situation are just as reliable as everything else has been.”]
[“Rest easy, oh brother of mine,”] chuckled Thomas as he worked swiftly from the Tranquility Science Lab. [“You’re not even going to have to hold your breath.”]
[“How can you be so certain?”] wondered his brother inquisitively. [“I haven’t had need of this kind of rescue yet. What if your software parameters are off by a hair or two? Remember the inertial dampening program?”]
[“Just because this process hasn’t been tried yet on YOU doesn’t mean it hasn’t been thoroughly tested,”] Thomas said, firmly correcting him. [“I myself found the experience to be quite remarkable, and would eagerly go for a free fall ride in empty space again if an opportunity presents itself.”]
[“You’ve been out here in open space, with only an electromagnetic shield to protect you?”]
[“Absolutely,”] Thomas told him enthusiastically. [“Overall, I love the wrist guns the most… it’s so much easier to defend yourself against multiple targets when you can control the intensity setting of each discharge with a simple thought adjustment. I certainly wouldn’t have let you go into the Wasteland with technology that wasn’t one hundred percent Roh approved. You’re way too valuable to me, it would seem.”] He laughed lightly, continuing to work busily in the background while Adam floated, helpless. [“Do you have a specific destination in mind or would you like to stop back here and have a cup of coffee before returning to the Yakiir warship?”]
[“Much as I would love a hot mug of actual coffee, now is not an ideal time for me to take you up on that kind of offer,”] his mind thought back toward Thomas in response. [“Some friends of mine are in real danger. Please send me to the following destination…”] Patiently he waited, although his gut was filled with real concern for the four Crasel soldiers who had at some point become his friends as well as colleagues. [“You might want to check the audio settings when you have a moment. That explosion was pretty loud and Glen promised me that my hearing would be protected. I don’t like the faint ringing noise.”]
[“I’ll add it to the list.”]
[“Wait just a minute. You guys have a LIST of problems?”] Adam asked, slightly dismayed at the prospect.
Thomas laughed loudly in response to his attitude. [“Stand by,”] he chuckled. [“Here we go.”]
A sudden bright golden glow appeared from behind him, and as his body spun around to present him with a better view, Adam gratefully watched a sphere-shaped transit portal open in front of him. Smiling with evil delight, his body passed into it and vanished from sight. Seconds later, the portal closed behind him, leaving only ships, stranded shuttles and the all-encompassing vacuum of empty space in its wake.
*
“I am done serving with you,” growled Snee Vasten to his Captain, turning to regard his superior with utter contempt. “Once we return to Zaketh space, I am submitting a transfer order.”
He and Saou were standing in front of the closed emergency door in the corridor leading to the port side of the engine room. Adam had warned the Crasel to be cautious, so when they had lost radio contact with their ally the four of them immediately sealed off all access to the precious computers that could bring the warship’s critical systems back to life. The Captain studied him spitefully. “I could kill you for saying that.”
“Try it,” suggested Vasten with undisguised contempt. “You’re not the only one with friends in the upper bureaucracy. You seem to value your life… even to the point of sacrificing your own crew to save yourself. I saw you run for your lifeboat on the Pyrhh, and you would have used it if Adam Roh hadn’t saved us.”
“You cannot prove that.”
“I do not have to,” laughed Vasten darkly. “Others know… I told them and rumors fly on ships like the Pyrhh. Challenge me with an ethical quandary one more time Vaden Saou… I dare you.” He glanced down at his boots and fumed silently before resuming his watch on the men working fervently to attach explosive charges to the emergency door. Once it was gone, they could easily overpower the four Crasel. Then the engine room – along with the rest of the warship – would be theirs. “You get your Yakiir warship and I apply for a transfer. I think that should settle matters between us without the need for further violence.”
“Yes,” concluded the Captain with a dark smile, although his newfound loathing for Vasten was clearly visible based on his expression. “It should.” His mood darkened suddenly and he glared at the half dozen soldiers working on the door. “Hurry up,” he snapped disdainfully at them. “I want this ship back up and running fully before additional surprises drop out of transit. Sooner or later, someone from the Yakiir will come to check up on the supply ship and its escort.” Behind them, three dozen armed soldiers wearing full battle gear waited patiently for the door to be opened. Over on the starboard side of the large cruiser, Vasten had an additional squadron of Zaketh warriors stationed by the other exit just in case the Crasel tried to use it as an escape route.
I want those four men just as dead as their leader, Saou thought scornfully to himself.
His entire view of the process disintegrated in a sudden, unexpected explosion that collapsed the entire door and sent smoke and fire roiling back at him. Both he and Vasten fell backward, landing on the deck plating as debris rained down on them from above. The loud thunderclap of the explosion was temporarily deafening in such close quarters… the Captain reached up toward his ears and rubbed them, noticing a disturbingly unnerving ringing sound suddenly present. It faded somewhat as the seconds passed, but he was angrier than ever.
“What happened?” Snee Vasten asked with concern, glancing to the prone bodies that had been working to set explosives. “Did one of them set a charge off early?”
“No,” snapped an all-too familiar voice.
That was the point when Captain Saou first noticed that the explosion had originated from inside the engine room, blowing large fragments of the door toward them along with that damned hot spray of still-smoldering debris. Adam Roh stepped through the opening where the emergency door had been only seconds earlier, wearing a triumphant grin. Adam waved his hands again, using that all too familiar, very intimidating gesture, and Saou felt something huge, powerful
and unseen pass between him and Snee Vasten. Behind him, the entire complement of troops still waiting with weapons raised was abruptly blown backward. All of them landed flat on their backs, collapsing as though an enormous wind of some sort simply lifted them off of their feet and tossed them aside like sticks in the woods.
“How…?” Snee Vasten’s face paled in shock at the sight of Adam Roh, alive and well and visibly upset.
“Captain, I’m afraid that there will now be penalties instead of privileges when you leave in the Pyrhh,” Adam stated brusquely while addressing Saou. “Your men will leave all of their weapons, armor and munitions behind,” he continued with an expression on his normally kind face that could have melted steel. “Snee Vasten will stay here and he gets to choose which of your personnel also remain with me.”
Glancing warily with clear and understandable apprehension at Adam, Vasten’s eyes were filled with puzzlement. “Why me?” he asked.
Shrugging his shoulders indifferently, Adam smiled wryly. “You know your men. I trust you to split your soldiers adequately between the Pyrhh and this vessel so that we can adequately defend both. Keep in mind that some of the Yakiir will no doubt choose to join us. The rest will remain confined as prisoners.”
“How do you know that I won’t betray you again?”
“Because I believe deep down that you’re a man of honor who was only following the orders of your commanding officer,” the elder Roh told him. “And I think you know by now that if you neglect to serve honorably and try to screw with me again, I’m going to make you wish you were dead.”
“You can’t just send my men back to the Pyrhh without adequate weapons,” protested Captain Saou, all pretenses at command charisma and dignity suddenly stripped away. “We are low on supplies – the attack on the supply ship was supposed to secure more of them for us.”
“You should really think about this experience very carefully before you pick another fight,” suggested Adam darkly. “Do not think that even a Captain can order men left behind without consequences.” He studied the expressions on the faces of the soldiers, many of whom were slowly and carefully clambering back to their feet. “The confiscation of weaponry is for your protection, by the way. Right now I think there are quite a few of your own soldiers who would shoot you without hesitation if they are not given adequate time to calm down. Regardless of what happens when you return to your ship, I predict that your days left in command of the Pyrhh are numbered.”
He thoroughly enjoyed the haunted, beaten look on Captain Saou’s face. Behind him, the four Crasel soldiers raised their weapons high above their heads and howled with glee.
PROJECT WASTELAND
Pathfinder Series: Book Two
Chapter VII: Voyage Of The Ali Rinai
Planet Tranquility in the Proteus Galaxy…
Dennis Kaufield watched patiently from his position seated next to the Science Lab’s row of sophisticated computer workstations. As usual, Thomas Roh was busily working, using a keyboard to manipulate dozens of massive data packets that were flowing to them directly from the Wasteland. “This is pretty unbelievable,” the former Pathfinder Captain commented with a relieved smile. “I didn’t think your brother had it in him, but he has really managed to deliver. We’ve learned more about the Wasteland in a couple of days from direct interaction than Noah’s people have learned over centuries.”
Thomas paused long enough to hold up a cautious left hand and wave it side to side. “You’re kind of comparing apples to oranges,” he pointed out. “Not many races, except for Noah’s, could have learned so much about clans, ship movements and the diversity of languages and dialects that are in use within the Wasteland. This is especially true given the fact that telescopes alone can’t possibly peer through all of that nebula dust. We should be proud of what we’ve done, yes, but the primary reason Adam is functioning so well is because the resources placed at his disposal were developed after a thorough analysis.” Satisfied that the latest batch of incoming data was successfully stored, he nodded cheerfully. [“Okay Adam,”] he transmitted through their shared link. [“You can go ahead and send the next set of data packets.”]
[“I’ve tried looking through some of this, but it’s mostly encrypted,”] replied Adam from his position countless light years distant. [“The implant can decode it of course, but the process is very slow and I’ve got other things that need doing here. So I’m hoping you folks can crunch the data and uncover some more of the Yakiir’s big secrets. There will likely be a few more of them hidden away in all of this.”]
[“That Kuth incident really scared the socks off of Dr. Simmons,”] noted Thomas with a light chuckle. [“She’s off-shift and sleeping now, but told me that it just isn’t the same living in a world where things like that exist.”] He exhaled softly. [“I have a gut feeling that there are more of them out there.”]
Kaufield was listening in on the link, content merely to observe. Even so, a thought suddenly occurred to him. [“How do you know there aren’t more Kuth on that vessel?”]
[“Right now? I don’t.”] Adam took a moment to think about the matter. [“I got a pretty good look at it while it was human and then again after it reverted back to its natural state. The electromagnetic aura around it didn’t change significantly, but it had a slightly stronger bio-presence than a normal human being. If any others are still here in disguise, I should be able to spot them with my enhanced vision. Believe me; I’ve been keeping my eyes open for that very possibility.”] Again he paused to mentally review his recent memories. [“Only the color of its head changed after its death, when I held it against things. Any ideas Thomas? Does the creature have to be alive to actually change shapes?”]
[“We can’t prove anything without a detailed analysis of one of those creatures, preferably alive,”] his brother speculated. [“Off the top of my head, I’m thinking that they’re naturally chameleonic and have probably enhanced that ability in some manner. Technology probably allows them to shape shift, although how to actually accomplish something that sophisticated is way over my head. Next time I see Noah, I’ll ask him.”]
[“When do you plan to get some sleep, my friend?”] Kaufield asked Adam curiously.
[“Hey, don’t worry about me Denny,”] Adam responded with a dark laugh. [“It took us almost two hours to restore power to this ship. I’m doing fine, and my attention span is… good.”] The slight pause prior to speaking the final word caused both Kaufield and Thomas Roh to exchange amused glances. [“The Yakiir have been moved out of the starboard cargo bay and into the emptier, significantly less smelly port bay. Snee Vasten has a team of folks welding the holes in our flank shut. Once we’re underway and have initiated two or three PTP transits, I’ll be feeling one hell of a lot safer. I’ll sleep then, but in the meantime I thought I’d come up to the Command Center and upload the Yakiir’s data files to you.”] He continued to sound eager and confident. [“With you working on the data, I can sleep easy knowing you’ll have a complete analysis much sooner than I could ever provide one.”]
[“Even so, I think you should assign at least two armed guards to protect that starboard cargo bay,”] decided Kaufield, his mood growing distrustful. [“Now that we’ve managed to acquire a couple of those so-called quashing weapons, it would be a shame to lose them.”]
[“Already done sir,”] Adam transmitted back to him. [“Arte Kasik and Cren Hollis are currently on watch, and the other two Crasel will spell them after nine hours. Once I know who among this odd mixture of Yakiir and Zaketh is trustworthy, we’ll increase that number and reduce the shift time. Hollis told me not to worry… they’re used to operating for several days at a time without sleep.”]
Kaufield found himself laughing at the hardware specialist’s tone of voice. [“I’m glad that you’re making use of that tactical database,”] he observed. [“You sound a lot like me, and that’s good.”]
[“It has certainly supplied me with lots of good suggestions to be sure. Only one bad one
so far.”]
[“The suggestion to read the alien creature’s mind wasn’t bad… your decision to try it given the circumstances that you were facing was,”] Thomas chided softly.
[“Even so, be wary of trusting it too much,”] emphasized Kaufield. [“The options it gives you are just that… options. Your own instincts will always be your best guide.”] He shook his head, remembering the incident in the cargo bay before remembering that Adam couldn’t actually see him. [“Thomas is correct, the decision to try and read that Kuth creature’s thoughts using your implant was an unbelievably risky action. Not only did that mistake give away your position, but the mental strain slowed your responses. Be careful,”] he stated emphatically. [“High stress combat situations can leave you susceptible to impulsive behavior, which in turn can significantly impair your judgment…”]
[“…or get you blown out an airlock,”] Thomas piped in.
[“Hey, it was a SEALED corridor with explosive charges on one end and I KNEW something like that was coming,”] retorted Adam moodily. [“Don’t you two start ganging up on me.”] He paused for a moment during which time a fresh batch of data began uploading into the workstation where Thomas sat lounging in a cushioned swivel chair. [“Here comes the last of the warship’s encrypted database. Everything else is basic ship operations, maps and navigation software. If I notice anything odd, I’ll let you know.”]
The Pathfinder Trilogy Page 52