Corruption_Age Of Expansion_A Kurtherian Gambit Series

by Sarah Noffke

  Jack smiled. “You should listen to Liesel. She knows me better than I know myself.”

  “That’s a ridiculous notion that I won’t even pretend to entertain,” Hatch said, with a growl, sneering a bit at Liesel, who was obviously too close to him. She took the hint and disappeared after waving at them.

  “You have an update for us?” Jack asked.

  “Well, I sure as hell didn’t call you up to read your zodiac,” Hatch said, throwing a scathing glare in Liesel’s direction offscreen.

  “I thought it might help,” she sang, her voice light and full of warmth.

  Lewis leaned down, covering his mouth, looking at Jack. “Is she a real engineer?” he whispered.

  His uncle laughed. “Indeed, she is. Liesel Diesel is one of the best, second only to the Londil, here.”

  “We have the gate drives back online,” Hatch interjected, gaining their attention.

  Jack looked up toward the ceiling, relief plain on his face. “Thank the gods.”

  “You can do a ceremonial dance with Liesel later. I have more updates,” Hatch said. “We have the shields reinstated, but the cloaks still have an unknown problem.”

  Jack nodded. “That’s progress, though. I’m sure you’ll get the cloaking technology restored.”

  Hatch rolled his bulbous eyes. “No, Optimist, we won’t. Something about the monster is preventing us from fixing it. And I have little faith that the shields are up permanently. I’m going to study the sample of the monster; there’s something in its makeup that is disabling our technologies.”

  “Oh. So as long as the monster is aboard the ship—”

  “We’re screwed,” Hatch said, cutting Jack off.

  Jack swept his hand over his long forehead, a new stress marking his features. “Okay, is there anything else?”

  “I don’t give reports when minors are around,” Hatch said, and the telecom went black.

  “What? What is he talking about?” Jack said, scrunching his brow.

  Lewis turned as he heard soft steps, and found Dejoure standing in the entrance to the bridge.

  “I think he was referring to our newest addition,” he said, throwing a finger in the young girl’s direction.

  Jack spun to face Dejoure, his face shifting into a smile. “Hey there, Dure.” His pronunciation of her name completely off yet again.

  She smiled, her eyes flicking over the bridge, taking in all the details. “Hi. You can call me ‘DJ’,” she squeaked. “Um, Bailey lost her jacket and asked me to look for it.”

  “You think her jacket is here?” Lewis asked her.

  Dejoure pointed to a jacket hanging over a chair at one of the consoles. “It’s right there.”

  “Have you already been looking all over the place for it?” he teased.

  She shook her head.

  “Of course no one thought to ask me where the jacket was,” Ricky Bobby noted flatly.

  Lewis suppressed a smile. “DJ, did you know to look here?”

  She nodded, her face flushing pink.

  Lewis drummed his fingers over his lips. He thought it unlikely that Bailey had misplaced her jacket—or anything else at any point in her life. She’s testing the girl.

  “You told us you’re good at finding things. Has that always been true?” He asked DJ.

  Dejoure’s eyes shot to the jacket nervously. “Sort of. I got better at it when I started at SB.”

  Lewis stood, leaned over, and grabbed the jacket, handing it to Dejoure. “Please return this to the lieutenant and tell her that I think she’s right.”

  The girl took the jacket, a question on her face. “Right about what?”

  He only smiled. “Don’t worry. She’ll know.”

  “Okay,” DJ said shyly, smiling at Jack before leaving.

  Lewis turned to his uncle. “I daresay she will come in handy.”

  “Finding three hundred people isn’t going to be as easy,” Jack mused. “We need to determine how her skill works.”

  Lewis gave his uncle a cunning grin. “I think Lieutenant Tennant is already working on that.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Hatch’s Lab, Ricky Bobby, Tangki System

  There was a sulfuric smell wafting out of Hatch’s lab. Bailey scrunched up her nose as she strode into the work area.

  “Blame Liesel for the bad smell,” Hatch said, catching the pinched expression on the lieutenant’s face.

  “It’s totally my fault,” the engineer agreed, her head popping up from behind a workstation.

  “I told you the metabolic rate of the sample was too unstable for such a test,” Hatch grumbled as he hunched over a table, goggles covering his eyes.

  “And you, Dr. A’Din Hatcherik, were absolutely correct,” Liesel said cheerfully.

  That woman has zero ego. Bailey marveled at how good-natured the hippie engineer was. Maybe I should take up yoga or meditation to chill out…She peered down at her black combat suit and leather jacket. On second thought, I’d rather kick someone’s ass.

  “Are you making any progress with the sample?” she asked aloud.

  Hatch shook his head, his attention on the microscope slides in front of him. “Not yet, but I’ll crack it. We’ve classified the mineral, so that at least narrows things down, but the monster’s composition is complex and highly unstable. I’ve already lost half of the sample you and Lewis collected.”

  As if it had heard them discussing it, the monster rumbled in the belly of the ship, the walls making a chiming sound as they vibrated.

  “Well, hopefully you find enough information with what you have left, because I’d prefer not to tiptoe around the sleeping bear again,” Bailey told him.

  “At least we don’t have to worry about ruining the servers, if you do visit the monster again; they’re already fried,” Hatch said, placing one of the slides under the microscope.

  “It was a known risk going into the mission,” Ricky Bobby calmly reminded him.

  The mechanic rolled his head with frustration. “The loss of our backup servers is one of the reasons the cloaks are still offline.”

  “And once the monster is out of that area, I can work on repairs.” Liesel’s voice echoed from the back of the lab, a hopeful smile in her voice.

  “Whatever,” Hatch grumbled. “I’m not ready to set that monster free, which means we’re presently screwed.”

  Bailey found the mechanic’s grumpiness endearing. He was a strange and wonderful character, and she was excited to share her newest discovery with him.

  Before she could bring it up, Pip cut in overhead. “Speaking of being screwed, if I had a body, I could be of a lot more help.”

  Bailey’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “What does that have to do with being screwed?”

  Hatch looked up, shaking his head. “Don’t ask.”

  “You see, Lieutenant, when a boy matches with a girl—”

  “OK, I get it,” she interrupted. “That’s quite enough.”

  A slight smile formed on Hatch’s lips, making his face look strange beneath the goggles. “I told you not to ask.”

  She laughed. Pip was anything but polite, and yet he had a totally different effect on Hatch than Liesel or Ricky Bobby, who were both so even-tempered. Maybe the mechanic had more respect for people who didn’t bow to him.

  She considered that notion and, bolstered by some confidence, cleared her throat. “I’ve made an interesting observation regarding DJ,” she ventured.

  Hatch growled. “You mean the liability that you and the detective brought on this ship?”

  “I realize that you think bringing DJ aboard was a mistake, but I stand by the decision. Especially now,” Bailey said.

  Hatch looked over her shoulder. “Oh, look, here’s the other bad decision-maker.”

  Bailey turned to find Lewis strolling up behind her. He offered her a smile. “I suspect you’ve made a discovery?”

  She nodded, turning back around. “Hatch, I think DJ will prove to be a valu
able asset.”

  Hatch pulled the goggles off his head and peered into the microscope, which he’d set up with the sample of the monster. “Because she can roast some meat,” he sneered.

  Bailey stuck her hands on her hips and shook her head. “Because she has some sort of psychic ability that allows her to find things that are missing.”

  Hatch’s head swiveled up, a look of disbelief on his face. “What?”

  “I’ve had her find a number of things that I supposedly lost,” Bailey explained. “She’s better at finding things that actually belong to me; I tried to have her find Liesel’s ferret, but she was unable to.”

  Liesel strode from the back of the lab, Sebastian trailing after her. “I have trouble finding the little guy myself half the time.”

  Hatch shook his head. “So she found an item you misplaced. Big deal.”

  “It is a big deal,” Bailey insisted. “They were training the children at Starboards Corp. DJ said that they gave her a series of injections when she arrived. What if they did something to enhance their psychic abilities, and were training them to use these skills?”

  “What do you want me to do about it?” Hatch asked, his tone growing with irritation.

  “I want you to test her,” Bailey demanded.

  Hatch sighed. “I’m sort of busy at the moment. Monster, remember?”

  “But we have three hundred missing people and a potential locator,” Lewis argued.

  “The last time I checked, none of those people belonged to you or me or anyone else left on this ship. People aren’t owned like a lost item of clothing. Sorry, kid, you’re out of luck,” Hatch muttered, again lowering his head to look into the microscope.

  “Pip belonged to Julianna,” Bailey countered flatly.

  The Londil looked up suddenly, a startling realization on his face. Liesel froze, too, her eyes brightening.

  “I’m not owned,” Pip argued. “I’m no one’s pet.”

  Ignoring the AI, Bailey continued. “Look, I don’t know how DJ’s skill works, or if it was a fluke, but it’s worth checking out. We have to rely on what we have when we’re working against such major odds.”

  Hatch’s gaze fell to the floor. “Maybe there is something to your observations. There’s a connection that forms between a person and the things they own. It’s possible that the girl can tap into this energy.”

  “The theory of entanglement. Is that what you mean?” Lewis asked.

  Hatch nodded. “Yes, but Pip is right.”

  “I recorded that,” Pip said victoriously.

  Hatch groaned. “Please tell me you didn’t.”

  “I totally did.” Overhead, a recording played. ‘Yes, but Pip is right.’

  The mechanic puffed out his cheeks, irritation heavy in his expression.

  “Hatch, you mean that Pip is right in that he isn’t owned anymore?” Lewis clarified.

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. At the time that Julianna was uploaded, she and Pip were connected. However, since she’s disappeared, he’s free—which makes me wonder how reliable their connection will be. However, a Locator might be able to track Julianna to the place she went at the time the pairing was still solid.”

  “I don’t understand,” Bailey said. “Why aren’t they still connected?”

  “Because the link was severed,” Hatch stated. “Pip wasn’t her pet, he was more of a partner, so it’s like they’ve gotten divorced.”

  “It sounds like we need to test this,” Lewis stated. He looked up to the ceiling. “Ricky Bobby, will you please track DJ down and send her here?”

  “I can’t,” Ricky Bobby stated at once.

  “Wait, haven’t you been telling us that you can find anyone on the ship?” the detective asked, scratching the side of his head.

  “I have, but DJ appears to be an anomaly,” the AI said. “I can’t seem to find her.”

  “Is it possible that the girl is in a vent shaft or back compartment?” Hatch asked.

  “I wouldn’t know that,” Ricky Bobby answered. “I’m doing an individual scan of each of the rooms right now.”

  “That’ll take too long and be a waste of your energy,” Hatch said dismissively.

  “So DJ is a finder who can’t be found,” Lewis summated, a mystified look on his face.

  “What a dumb conundrum,” Hatch grumbled.

  “It makes perfect sense to me, actually,” Liesel stated.

  “Of course it does.” Hatch shook his head, going back to his microscope.

  Sirens burst out overhead, emitting a sharp wailing sound. Red lights strobed from the corner of the lab.

  Hatch’s tentacles wrapped protectively around the microscope. “What’s going on?”

  “There’s a security breach,” Ricky Bobby reported.

  “Is it the monster?” Lewis asked. “Has it escaped?”

  “No, it’s not the monster,” Ricky Bobby stated. “Starboards Corp has launched a missile at us.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Bridge, Ricky Bobby, Tangki System

  The ship lurched forward as the missile blasted into the stern. Bailey caught her balance against a workstation as she sprinted onto the bridge, Lewis on her heels.

  Dejoure and Jack stood by a console in the middle of the bridge looking at each other apprehensively.

  “There you are,” Bailey said, surprised to find Dejoure in such an obvious place. I can’t believe she didn’t register immediately for Ricky Bobby.

  The girl looked up with horror in her eyes. “SB is coming after me.”

  Bailey shook her head, holding onto nearby stations as she made her way over to the console. “They are trying, but to hell with those guys. We still have weapons. We’ll fight.”

  Jack was watching the radar, a calculated expression on his face. “Twelve fighters jumped in to surround us. This was definitely a planned attack.”

  Bailey cast a quick look at Dejoure. “Damn, they want you bad.”

  The girl was visibly shaking now. “I don’t know why. I’m not a big deal.”

  Lewis stepped up beside them, holding onto the console to steady himself. “You are, but you’re our big deal now.”

  “Ricky Bobby, can you ready the mains?” Jack asked, his eyes fixed on the radar, the ground shaking under his feet.

  “I can’t without taking power away from the shields, and they’re only at thirty percent,” Ricky Bobby said.

  Hence the ground shaking, Bailey thought. “And the engines? What’s their status?”

  “I’m working on restarting them after the repairs,” Ricky Bobby said.

  “So we’re sitting ducks,” Lewis stated.

  “At the moment. Another missile has been deployed and is headed for port side,” Ricky Bobby reported. “Minimal damage expected.”

  Lewis’s eyes widened with a sudden realization. “They aren’t trying to take us out; they need what we have on board.”

  “Ten seconds until detonation,” Ricky Bobby informed them.

  “Dammit, we were just getting the ship up and running,” Bailey groused, holding onto the console to brace herself.

  The blast knocked her forward, sending her nearly on top of the console. Dejoure flew back, landing against the rail, and Lewis ran to help her up as the lights flashed overhead.

  “Is the monster still contained?” Jack asked.

  “Yes, the monster is secure. Though a hit to that area of the ship could change that,” Ricky Bobby qualified.

  “Well, the shields are going to be down soon, so we need to figure something out,” Bailey said.

  “Starboards Corp is trying to establish a link,” Ricky Bobby announced.

  “Put them through,” Jack replied.

  “Ghost Squadron, this is Mariah Riley with Starboards Corp,” a woman’s voice sounded over the comm.

  “Mariah Riley?” Lewis said with a disbelief. “The robot that nearly blew up Ricky Bobby?”

  “All the robots at SB are called that,” Dejoure
said in a rush. “They’re all the MR06 model.”

  “There are probably robots flying every single one of those ships, then,” Bailey guessed.

  Lewis agreed with a nod. “That makes them incredibly dangerous.”

  Jack pressed the button for the comm. “Mariah, this is Ghost Squadron.”

  “You have something that belongs to us. We are requesting permission to dock,” Mariah said.

  “DJ isn’t a thing,” Lewis barked, his face flushing red.

  “If we allow those ships to dock, they’ll detonate like the last one did,” Bailey pointed out.

  DJ rubbed her head, having bumped it during the last assault. “They aren’t going to go away, and this ship isn’t in any position to fight.”

  Jack considered the girl and nodded, pressing the button for the comm. “We don’t have anything that belongs you. Stand down. You don’t want to make an enemy of us.” He let out a breath as he released the button, and looked at the others. “Our systems may be down, but we’re bigger.”

  “They are calling your bluff,” Ricky Bobby said. “Three missiles have been deployed.”

  “Dammit,” Jack said, his eyes firmly shut as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “Damn! If they don’t want to risk hurting DJ, why are they trying to blow us up?” Bailey asked, her eyes frantic, watching the approaching missiles on the radar.

  Mariah came over the comm again. “You have twenty seconds to release what belongs to us. Comply, and we will redirect the missiles.”

  Bailey and Lewis exchanged worried looks.

  “Ricky Bobby, do we have enough power to use the gate drives?” Bailey asked.

  “If I divert power from other systems, then yes,” Ricky Bobby stated.

  Bailey looked to Jack. This was his decision, but she hoped the look on her face made it clear what they should do.

  “Ricky Bobby, jump us to a secure location,” he decided. “Something that won’t stress the drives, but will get us the hell out of here.”

  “Confirmed,” Ricky Bobby said. “Ship will gate in three, two, one.”

  Bailey had never been on a ship when it jumped, so she wasn’t fully prepared for the sudden sensation of being stretched. She felt like a piece of putty being lengthened. Her vision blurred. Her ears rang. She felt a weight on the top of her head. She blinked several times, encouraging her eyes to focus. The lights had dimmed so low that she could only make out the outlines of her teammates.